Depression in Tourette Syndrome

The aim of the study is to show relationship between severity of depressive symptoms and the severity of tics, declared feeling of stigmatization and feelings about the body.

The study included 13 people with Tourette syndrome and 13 people in a comparative group - matching method, taking into account compatibility of gender, age, number of years of education, and size of the place of residence. The study used: Polish adaptation of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS), Questionnaire for Measuring Depression (Kwestionariusz do Pomiaru Depresji -KPD), Perceived Stigmatization Questionnaire (PSQ), Questionnaire of feelings about the body.

Wilcoxon signed-rank test analysis showed that the declared general depression rate is significantly higher in the group of people with Tourette syndrome (Z = - 2.691; p < 0.01). The indicator differentiating the declared feeling of stigmatization among people with TS was the feeling of embarrassment due to other people's stare/the stare of bystanders (ZG) (Z = - 1.888; p < 0.05). The general assessment of one's body image is not different in the group of people with TS and comparative group, but two important factors have been distinguished: "My body is alien to me" (Z = - 1.897; p < 0.05), "It is difficult for me to understand changes in my body" (Z = 1.950; p < 0.05).

It is concluded that the severity of tics, the feeling of stigmatization and selected body image indexes are related to both the general severity of symptoms of depression and its individual indicators.